Dataset Information

Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Improve Gross Motor and Problem-Solving Skills in Young North Indian Children: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Deficiencies of vitamin B12 and folate are associated with delayed development and neurological manifestations. The objective of this study was to measure the effect of daily supplementation of vitamin B12 and/or folic acid on development in young North Indian children.

Methods

In a randomized, double blind trial, children aged six to 30 months, received supplement with placebo or vitamin B12 and/or folic acid for six months. Children were allocated in a 1:1:1:1 ratio in a factorial design and in blocks of 16. We measured development in 422 children by the Ages and Stages Questionnaire 3rd ed. at the end of the intervention.

Results

Compared to placebo, children who received both vitamin B12 and folic acid had 0.45 (95% CI 0.19, 0.73) and 0.28 (95% CI 0.02, 0.54) higher SD-units in the domains of gross motor and problem solving functioning, respectively. The effect was highest in susceptible subgroups consisting of stunted children, those with high plasma homocysteine (> 10 ?mol/L) or in those who were younger than 24 at end study. With the exception of a significant improvement on gross motor scores by vitamin B12 alone, supplementation of either vitamin alone had no effect on any of the outcomes.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that supplementation of vitamin B12 and folic acid benefit development in North Indian Children.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00717730.

SUBMITTER: Kvestad I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4476750 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Improve Gross Motor and Problem-Solving Skills in Young North Indian Children: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Kvestad Ingrid I Taneja Sunita S Kumar Tivendra T Hysing Mari M Refsum Helga H Yajnik Chittaranjan S CS Bhandari Nita N Strand Tor A TA

PloS one 20150622 6

<h4>Objectives</h4>Deficiencies of vitamin B12 and folate are associated with delayed development and neurological manifestations. The objective of this study was to measure the effect of daily supplementation of vitamin B12 and/or folic acid on development in young North Indian children.<h4>Methods</h4>In a randomized, double blind trial, children aged six to 30 months, received supplement with placebo or vitamin B12 and/or folic acid for six months. Children were allocated in a 1:1:1:1 ratio i ...[more]

PMID: 26098427

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundInorganic arsenic is metabolized to monomethyl- (MMAs) and dimethyl- (DMAs) species via one-carbon metabolism (OCM); this facilitates urinary arsenic elimination. OCM is influenced by folate and vitamin B12 and previous randomized control trials (RCTs) showed that folic acid (FA) supplementation increases arsenic methylation in adults. This RCT investigated the effects of FA + B12 supplementation on arsenic methylation in children, a key developmental stage where OCM supports growth.MethodsA total of 240 participants (8-11 years, 53 % female) drinking from wells with arsenic concentrations > 50 μg/L, were encouraged to switch to low arsenic wells and were randomized to receive 400 μg FA + 5 μg B12 or placebo daily for 12-weeks. Urine and blood samples were collected at baseline, week 1 (only urine) and week 12. Generalized estimated equation (GEE) models were used to assess treatment effects on arsenic species in blood and urine.ResultsAt baseline, the mean ± SD total blood and urinary arsenic were 5.3 ± 2.9 μg/L and 91.2 ± 89.5 μg/L. Overall, total blood and urine arsenic decreased by 11.7% and 17.6%, respectively, at the end of follow up. Compared to placebo, the supplementation group experienced a significant increase in the concentration of blood DMAs by 14.0% (95% CI 5.0, 25.0) and blood secondary methylation index (DMAs/MMAs) by 0.19 (95% CI: 0.09, 0.35) at 12 weeks. Similarly, there was a 1.62% (95% CI: 0.43, 20.83) significantly higher urinary %DMAs and -1.10% (95% CI: -1.73, -0.48) significantly lower urinary %MMAs in the supplementatio group compared to the placebo group after 1 week. The direction of the changes in the urinary %iAs, %MMAs, and %DMAs at week 12 were consistent with those at week 1, though estimates were not significant. Treatment effects were stronger among participants with higher baseline blood arsenic concentrations. Results were consistent across males and females, and participants with higher and lower folate and B12 status at baseline.ConclusionThis RCT confirms that FA + B12 supplementation increases arsenic methylation in children as reflected by decreased MMAs and increased DMAs in blood and urine. Nutritional interventions may improve arsenic methylation and elimination in children, potentially reducing arsenic toxicity while also improving nutritional status.

Project description:1. Metabolism of folate was studied in six ewes in an advanced state of vitamin B(12) deficiency as judged by voluntary food intake and in their pair-fed controls receiving vitamin B(12). A group of four animals that were maintained throughout the experiment at pasture was also studied. 2. After 34-40 weeks on the cobalt-deficient diet urinary excretion of formiminoglutamate by four deficient animals was about 3.2mmol/day and this was not significantly decreased by injection of three of them with about 4.5mug of [2-(14)C]folate/kg body weight per day for 5 days. Three days after the last injection retention of [2-(14)C]folate by the livers of the deficient animals (5.5% of the dose) was lower than that of their pair-fed controls (26% of the dose) but there was no evidence of net retention of injected folate in the livers of either group. Urinary excretion of (14)C indicated that renal clearance of folate may have been impaired in very severe vitamin B(12) deficiency. 3. As estimated by microbiological assays total folates in the livers of animals at pasture (12.9mug/g) included about 24% of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate as compared with about 72% of a total of 12.5mug/g in three further ewes fed on a stock diet of wheaten hay-chaff and lucerne-chaff. Liver folates of vitamin B(12)-deficient animals (0.5mug/g) included about 88% of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate as compared with about 51% of a total of 5.2mug/g in pair-fed animals treated with vitamin B(12). 4. Chromatography of liver folates of the pair-fed animals permitted quantitative estimates of the pteroylglutamates present. The results showed that the vitamin B(12)-deficient livers were more severely depleted of tetrahydrofolates and formyltetrahydrofolates than of methyltetrahydrofolates and that as the deficiency developed they were more severely depleted of the higher polyglutamates than of the monoglutamate within each of these classes. Results from animals injected with [2-(14)C]folate indicated an impairment of the exchange between pteroylmonoglutamates and pteroylpolyglutamates in the livers of deficient animals. 5. In vitamin B(12)-deficient animals with food intakes below 200g/day some of the liver folates were not completely reduced and some degradation of pteroylpolyglutamates was detected. The latter condition may have been associated with fatty liver. 6. The results are discussed in relation to current theories of vitamin B(12)-folate interactions.

Dataset Information

Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Improve Gross Motor and Problem-Solving Skills in Young North Indian Children: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Trial registration

Publications

Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Improve Gross Motor and Problem-Solving Skills in Young North Indian Children: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets